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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Moral Salience And Conditional Altruism: Reconciling Jekyll And Hyde Paradoxes, James Konow
Moral Salience And Conditional Altruism: Reconciling Jekyll And Hyde Paradoxes, James Konow
Economics Faculty Works
Many recent studies have revealed an economically and socially important paradox: people sometimes behave morally in certain situations but then behave immorally (or less morally) under conditions that differ for reasons that seem morally irrelevant. These patterns are inconsistent with both theories of rational self-interest as well as with theories that incorporate stable social preferences. This paper introduces a parsimonious and tractable theory of moral salience and conditional altruism that is consistent with anomalies involving uncertainty, exit options, the ability to take from others, and the possibility to destroy or create earnings of others. The proposed framework is general enough …
Virtue Preferences: Jekyll And Hyde Paradoxes With Sanctions, James Konow
Virtue Preferences: Jekyll And Hyde Paradoxes With Sanctions, James Konow
Economics Faculty Works
Jekyll and Hyde paradoxes refer to the fact that people sometimes behave morally in certain situations but then behave immorally (or, at least, less morally) under conditions that differ for reasons that seem morally irrelevant. Observational and experimental studies confirm the economic and social importance of these phenomena, which are inconsistent both with rational self-interest as well as with theories that add stable moral preferences. This paper presents a theory that reconciles various of these phenomena, including the depressing effects on moral behavior of experimentally introducing options to take the earnings of others, to delegate decisions and to remain ignorant …